As promised, with the start of summer and summer sunshine, I opened up two bottles of apple cider by Creek & Gully Cider from Penticton. I have their Creek & Gully Newtown Granny 2020 and their Pink Lady 2020 made from organically grown Granny Smith + Newtown-Pippin and Pink Lady apples respectively. Both ciders are sparkling made via pet-nat method. For those of you unfamiliar with pét-nat, it is an ancient way of making sparkling wine in a bottle. With pét-nat you bottle the wine, or cider in this case when it is only partially fermented, leaving some residual sugar which can then continue to ferment in the bottle. After that fermentation has completed, then with some time resting in the bottle the carbon dioxide bubbles are absorbed into the wine / cider and it is then ready to enjoy. These are 750 ml bottles, just like wine bottles. Now, let me tell you about these two ciders.
My Cider Tasting Notes
Creek & Gulley Pink Lady 2020 ($22)
From Creek & Gully, “Pink Lady Apples require a long, 200 day growth period, with warm days and cool nights. Meaning, in our climate, we pick this fruit in November. It is the last of our 18 varieties of apples to come off the trees.”
A brilliant gold colour, petillant. (Petillant is light sparkling. Not as effusive as a bottle of Champagne’s bubbles for example.) Lighter aromas of floral, vanilla, tree fruits, and apples. Very slightly off-dry, round, with medium-plus acidity. Lighter body. I enjoyed the very small creamy bubbles. Ripe apples, apple core and a touch of cherries on the palate. Nice complexity. A creamy mouthfeel. Medium length, dry finish, with some light tannins and a traditional cider flavour on the finish. 
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Creek & Gully Newtown Granny 2020 ($22)
From Creek & Gully, “This cider is equal parts Granny Smith and Newtown-Pippin apples. This was the first year our farm had enough of each of these two biannual varieties to juice them as stand alone! Crisp, light, honeyed.”
A slightly hazy gold colour, petillant. Medium intensity aromas with a traditional cider nose and apple skin. Dry with medium-plus acidity and medium bitterness. Lean, not round mouthfeel. Does remind me a bit of an ESB beer. Medium body with medium bubbles. Crisp apple, woodiness and nuttiness plus apple skin tannins. A thicker texture. Finished dry with a medium-plus length. Traditional apple cider flavour, drying tannins and some woodiness on the finish. If you like Traditional apple ciders you will like this one.
Cider and Persian Food Pairing
I tried both these ciders with Persian food from Cazba Restaurant in Burnaby for dinner. I had the Vaziri (a combination of one ground beef & one chicken boneless breast kabob served with dill rice and a grilled tomato). The dill rice is an additional cost but is very delicious. Which cider did I prefer with my dinner?
The ground beef had a stronger, deeper flavour plus has spices mixed in compared to the chicken, which may be marinated, but still has lighter flavour. Dill has a very strong flavour, but really works well in rice. Acidity was one of the key elements from the ciders as well as the bubble size and creaminess when pairing with this dish. Overall I prefered the creamier bubble of the Pink Lady cider with both the chicken and ground beef. The dill worked better with the lighter flavours of the Pink Lady as well. The acidity level and bigger-sized bubbles with the Newtown Granny was a bit too strong and aggressive for this dish. I think that the Newtown Granny would make a nice pairing with pork belly or grilled pork sausage that has more fattiness to work with the acidity of this cider. Give it a try and leave me a comment.
Where Can I Buy These Ciders?
You can order both ciders online from Creek & Gully Cider or purchase them at the Cidery in Penticton. You can also purchase through these retailers:
Jak’s Liquor Stores – BC
Liberty Wine Merchants – Vancouver
Urban Liquor Stores -Kelowna
Public Liquor – Kelowna
Grand Liquor Merchants – Nelson
Cook St. Liquor – Victoria
College Heights Liquor – Prince George
And at these restaurants, breweries, and bakeries:
Thank you to Creek & Gully Cider for providing me with these samples to review.
